Petroleum heater



1968 YUJIRO MURAKAMI ET L PETROLEUM HEATER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 1, 1966 Feb. 6, 1968 YUJIRO MURAKAMI ETAL 3,367,318

PETROLEUM HEATER 5 Sheets-Sheet Filed July 1, 1966 PETROLEUM HEATER Filed July 1, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 I.Illllllllllllllllllllllnlllllllllllll Feb. 6, 1968 YUJIRO MURAKAMI ET AL 3,367,318

PETROLEUM HEATER Filed July 1, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 v F/(i 7 United States Patent 3,367,318 PETROLEUM HEATER Yuiiro Murakami, Moriguchi-shi, Toshio Nozaki, Toyonaka-shi, Kunihito Mori, Hirakata-shi, Yukio Hirauchi, Yamatokoriyama-shi, and Manabu Takata, Toyonakashi, Japan, assignors to Matsushita Electric Industrial (30., Ltd., Osaka, Japan, a corporation of Japan Filed July 1, 1966, Ser. No. 562,185 8 Claims. (Cl. 126-96) ABSTRACT OF THE DESCLUSURE A petroleum heater having a pair of cylinders coaxially disposed at the center of an oil tank with means to move one of the cylinders with respect to the other, a burning Wick member being disposed between the cylinders and fixed to the above-mentioned movable cylinder. A mounting ring for at least one suction wick member is also provided which is slid ably mounted around the inner cylinder and which is urged in a direction so that the wick members contact. Means are also provided for overcoming the force of the resilient means and urging the mounting ring in an opposite direction for interrupting contact between the respective wick members.

The present invention relates to a convection petroleum heater to be used for heating a room as a whole by the convection of heat.

In general, most of wicks used in petroleum heaters are made of cotton. Petroleum heaters using cotton wick, however, have the drawbacks that the combustion of petroleum becomes unsatisfactory due to deformation of the burning edge of the wick as a result of consumption and that labor is required for re-shaping the wick edge by removing residua accumulated thereon. The residua are being removed mechanically using a special cutter but, since the residua are firmly attached to the wick, they can only be removed by plucking them together with the wick with a considerable force or by cutting them off. This has resulted in an excessively fast consumption of the wick, with the consequence that the Wick must be replaced frequently. Furthermore, when combustion is continued inadvertently without knowing the fuel having been exhausted (which is referred to as blank burning), the wick is burnt up to the extent at which it is substantially unserviceable.

As such, successful removal of the residua by mechanical means is difficult but, on the other hand, the residua have the property that they may be decomposed and burnt off simply when they are heated at temperatures above 400 C. for about 10 minutes. However, under normal combustion state, the temperature at the upper portion of a wick in a petroleum heater is slightly higher than 100 C. and in order to raise the temperature at the upper portion of the wick to a level higher than 400 C., it would be necessary to bring the wick in an abnormal combustion state. When the Wick is used in the abnormal combustion state, however, while it is possible to remove the residua attached thereto, a wick such as of cotton is consumed greatly and continuous use of the same becomes impossible. Such an abnormal combustion is possible with no adverse effect only when the wick is made of heat-resistant materials, such as glass fibre, carbon fibre, sintered alloys and ceramics. The use of such wicks, however, involves the inconvenience that, since the wick is constructed integrally from the bottom to the top, the fuel in an oil tank must be emptied beforehand at each time when blank burning is carried out for the removal of residua, which will render the blank burning operation or the residua removing operation highly cumbersome. In addiobtained and is inexpensive, would be of great advantage.

This may be accomplished by dividing a wick into two sections, one of which is composed of a burning wick element of such material as glass fibre, carbon fibre, sintered alloy or ceramic and the other of which is composed of a suction wick element of such material as cotton, staple fibre, asbestos or chemical fibre. When fuel is burnt with the burning wick element while keeping both wick elements in contact with each other, enough fuel can be supplied to the burning wick element by the suction wick element and thus satisfactory combustion can be obtained. In addition, the use of such a wick is of economical advantage because no costly material such as glass fibre is required for the construction of the entire wick, and further blank burning of the wick for the removal of residua attached to the edge thereof may be easily accomplished merely by disconnecting the suction wick element from the burning wick element so as to interrupt fuel supply to the latter. Thus the excellent effects expected of a wick as described previously can be obtained.

The present invention has been attained on the basis of the foregoing concept and a principal object thereof is to provide a convection petroleum heater in which blank burning can be accomplished at any time as desired regardless of the presence or absence of fuel in a fuel tank to thereby remove the residua easily, said petroleum heater using a wick having the upper section composed of a cylindrical burning wick element made of a heatresistant material such as glass fibre and the lower section composed of a suction wick element consisting of cords of such material as cotton having a good oil sucking property, both of said wick elements being usually connected with each other for fuel combustion and adapted to be disconnected for the removal of carbonaceous residua piled up on the edge of said burning wick element.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a convection petroleum heater in which a suction wick element is guided by an inner cylinder for introducing a primary air therethrough so that said suction wick element may be moved vertically smoothly following the vertical movement of a burning wick element, whereby both wick elements are held in contact satisfactorily.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a convection petroleum heater in which, similar to conventional convection heaters, a burning wick element is moved vertically by the operation of an operating shaft through a rack-pinion mechanism to facilitate fuel combustion, adjustment of combustion or extinguishment and, when carbonaceousresidua have been accumulated on the burning wick element, the contact of the burning wick element with the suction wick element is disconnected by means which is provided separately from the operational shaft, thus providing for blank burning of the burning wick element.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a convection petroleum heater in which a suction wick element consisting of cord-like wicks can be connected to a mounting plate by a simple operation of passing said cord-like wicks through the holes bored in said mounting plate, which will improve the workability of the heater remarkably, and the connection or disconnection between the burning wick element and suction wick element is effected in a fuel tank so that handling and replacement of the parts associating with the connection or disconnection are facilitated.

Other various objects and advantages of the present invention will be understood more clearly from the following detailed descripton taken in conjunction With the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a erspective view of the petroleum heater according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plane view of a combustion area of the petroleum heater;

FIGURE 3 is a side view in cross section of the combustion area;

FIGURE 4 is an illustrative view of wick separating means provided in the petroleum heater;

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic view in cross section of another embodiment of the present invention, showing an improved type of the wick separating means;

FIGURE 6 is a diagrammatic view in cross section of still another embodiment of the present invention, showing an improved type of wick connection; and

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged view in cross section of a critical portion of a still further embodiment of the wick separating means.

The petroleum heater of the invention will be illustrated hereinbelow by way of embodiment. Referring to the drawings, a fuel tank 1 containing a fuel is provided with an oil gauge 2 and an oil supply port 3, and at the center there is disposed a vertically extending inner cylinder 4 which is formed integrally by sinking. A spreader 5 is mounted on the upper opening of the inner cylinder 4 in removable fashion, said spreader having a multiplicity of apertures formed therein. An outer cylinder 6 is removably mounted on top of said fuel tank 1 concentrically with the inner cylinder 4 through the intermediary of a packing 18 with a predetermined space between it and the outer peripheral surface of said inner cylinder 4 and is integrally combined at its bottom with a secondary air supply cylinder 7 disposed about the exterior thereof and having a multiplicity of apertures formed therein. On the outer cylinder 6 is mounted a vertically slidable wick retaining cylinder 8 having a slanting slot (not shown) formed in a portion thereof for guiding a projection 9 which is provided on the outer cylinder 6 and a slanting rack 11 mounted on the opposite side for engagement with a pinion 10. An operating shaft 12 is rotatably supported by a bearing 13, which is supported by the outer cylinder 6 and the secondary air supply cylinder 7, and a bearing plate 14 projecting outwardly from said secondary air supply cylinder 7, said operating shaft 12 havin the aforementioned pinion mounted at one end and a knob 15 fixed at the other end by a screw 16. A cylindrical burning wick element 17 made of a heat-resistant material, such as glass fibre, carbon fibre,

s-intered alloy or ceramic, is disposed between the inner cylinder 4 and the outer cylinder 6 and is moved vertically by being held by the wick retaining cylinder 8. It will be apparent that this burning wick element 17 may be made of a heat-resistant material as a whole or alternatively it may be integrally formed with the edge portion only made of a heat resistant material and the remaining lower portion made of such material as cotton. The engagement of the burning wick element with the wick retaining cylinder 8 may be achieved by any suitable means, e.g. by the engagement of a projection formed on the burning wick element 17 with a through-hole formed in the wick retaining cylinder 8, and the burning wick element 17 is moved vertically at the same time as the vertical movement of the wick retaining cylinder 8 caused by the driving force of the rack 11 and pinion 10, with its extreme end projecting or retracting between the inner cylinder 4 and the outer cylinder 6. A suction wick elernent 19 is made of a cord-like material, such as cotton, staple fibre, asbestos or chemical fibre, having a good 011 sucking property, and is connected to a Wick mounting ring 20 in a plural number and dipped in a fuel, said wick mounting ring 20 being movable vertically in the fuel tank 1 while being guided by the inner cylinder 4. The suction wick element 19 is connected to the wick mounting ring 20 by passing the former through a through-hole formed in the latter in a plural number from the upward direction, with both ends being hung down. Reference numeral 21 is an annular contact fabric dis posed on the wick mounting ring 10 in intimate contact with an intermediate portion of each suction wick element 19 and is made of a hydroscopic material such as felt, said annular fabric being arranged in opposed relation with the lower end of the burning wick element 17. A spring 22 is mounted on the inner cylinder 4 between the inner bottom of the fuel tank 1 and the wick mounting ring 20 so as to urge the contact fabric 21 to be in intimate contact with the end portion of the burning wick 17.

Two vertically movable pressing rods 23 are extending through the bottom portion of the secondary air supply cylinder 7 at diametrically opposite locations, with their lower ends extending into the fuel tankl to be disposed opposite to outer peripheral portions of the contact fabric 21. The pressing rod 23 is provided at a portion above the fuel tank 1 with a projection 28. Guide elements, each having a horizontal member 25 for guiding the upper end of the pressing rod 23 and a vertical member 27 for guiding a cleaning lever 26, are mounted to the secondary air supply cylinder 7 with said members 25, 27 facing the outer cylinder 6. The lever 26 mentioned above is bifurcated, with two legs extending through the secondary air supply cylinder 7 so as to have the outer cylinder 6 disposed therebetween and being supported by the vertical members 27 for displacement only in fore-and-aft direction. In the end portion of the lever 26 is formed a forwardly inclining slanting hole 29 with which the projection 28 on the pressing rod 23 is engaged. The lever 26 is provided at the center with a handle 30 for cleaning operation, which is projecting in the same direction as the operating shaft 12 and is allowed to move only in fore-and-aft direction by being guided by a bearing plate 31 mounted vertically on the bearing plate 14. This handle 30 is disposed above the operating shaft 12 and operated substantially at the same position as the knob 15.

Reference numeral 32 is an air regulating ring consisting of a dish-shaped outer plate 33 having formed therein a through-hole of substantially the same diameter as that of the burning wick element 17 and an inner plate 34 of substantially the same configuration as that of the outer plate and having a plurality of small holes bored therein, said outer plate 33 and said inner plate 34 being chalked integrally at their outer peripheral edges. This air regulating ring is mounted on top of the rim of the secondary air supply cylinder 7. A funnel 35 is mounted on the outer peripheral edge of the air regulating plate 32 removably and connected to the fuel tank 1 by a suitable means. The funnel 35 is provided at its bottom end with a flaring 37 to cover the combustion area, said flaring being provided with a plurality of through-holes 36 and a cutout to permit the knob 15 and the handle 30 to project outwardly therethrough, while it is provided at its upper end with a top plate 38. The funnel 35 is also provided with an openable window 39 providing for the inspection of combustion state. Reference numeral 40 is a guard made of wire rod, which is disposed about the outer periphery of the funnel 35 so as to surround the same. Reference numeral 41 is a handle for transporting the heater therewith connected to the top plate 38. Reference numeral 42 are legs mounted to the underside of the fuel tank 1, with which the heater is supported on a dishshaped receiving pan 43, said legs being connected with said receiving pan integrally by means of suitable metal parts 44. The receiving pan 43, therefore, serves to prevent the fuel tank 1 from falling down and also to receive fuel leaking from the fuel tank. Reference numeral 45 is an ignition lever having its operating end disposed on the front face of the fuel tank 1.

Now, the operation of the petroleum heater of the present invention constructed as described above will be explained hereinafter.

The operation of the knob 15 will cause the wick retaining cylinder 8 to rotate through the rack-pinion mechanism 11, 10. Since the projection 9 is guided by the slanting hole (not shown), the wick retaining cylinder 3 moves upward while rotating and thereby the burning wick element 17 being held by the wick retaining cylinder is also moved upwardly. In this case, since the contact fabric 21 is kept in contact with the end surface of the burning wick element under the influence of the spring 22, the suction wick element also moves upward following the burning wick element. Thus the burning wick element 17 is supplied with a sufficient amount of fuel. When the top edge of the burning wick element 17 has reached to a desired level, the ignition lever 45 is pressed, whereupon the top edge of the burning wick 17 is ignited and the fuel starts to burn. The fuel combustion state is visible through the window 39, whichwill facilitate proper adjustment of the combustion state. The combustion takes place at the top edge of the burning wick element 17 with a primary air supplied through the inner cylinder 4 disposed at the center of the fuel tank 1 and the small holes in the spreader 5, and a secondary air supplied through the through-holes in the secondary air supply cylinder 8 and the small holes in the air regulating ring 32.

When the fire is desired to be put out, on the other hand, the knob 15 is operated reversely to the case of burning and thereby the burning wick is lowered through the rack-pinion 11, 10, with the top edge thereof retracting in between the inner cylinder 4 and outer cylinder 6 and the fire is extinguished. In this case, the burnning wick 17 depresses the contact fabric 21 at its lower end against the force of the spring 22 until said contact fabric returns to its original position.

During the use of the heater over a lengthy period, residua, such as tar, are precipitated on the top edge of the burning wick element 17, with the consequence that suction of the fuel and accordingly combustion state of the fuel become unsatisfactory. Such residua must therefore be removed. This can be acccomplished by pulling the cleaning lever 26 during fuel combustion, whereupon the pressing rod 23 is caused to move downward due to the projection 28 being guided by the slanting hole 29 and depresses the contact fabric 21 at its end against the force of the spring 22. Since the suction wick element 19 only is lowered, with burning wick element 17 remaining at the burning position, fuel supply to the burning wick element 17 is interrupted and therefore fuel combustion continues on the burning wick element with only the fuel impregnated in said burning wick element. As a result, the temperature at the top edge of the burning wick element 17 becomes extremely high causing the residua attached to the top end to be decomposed and flown away. Upon completion of the removal of the residua from the top edge of the burning wick element 17, the cleaning lever 26 is pushed forward, whereupon the projection 28 is caused to move upward by being guided by the slanting hole 29 and thus the pressing rod 23 is returned to its original position. Concurrently, the suction wick element 19 is also moved upward by the stability of the spring 22 until it comes in contact with the lower end of the burning wick element 17, thus providing for normal operation of the heater. Needless to say, fuel supply to the fuel tank 1 is effected through the fuel supply port 3 after removing a cap for the port and the amount of fuel in the fuel tank can be known by the indication on the oil gauge 2.

Next, another example of the petroleum heater of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the diagrammatic drawings. In FIGS. 5 and 6, the

same reference numerals as in the example described above indicate the corresponding parts. Namely, FIG. 5 shows diagrammatically a petroleum heater in which a stopper 46 is provided extending downward through the top surface of the fuel tank 1 in opposed relation with the contact fabric 21 as means for separating both wick elements from each other, instead of that in the previous example consisting of the pressing rod 23 and lever 26. This stopper 46 is arranged such that, while it will give no effect on the normal vertical movement of the burning wick element 17 for normal use of the heater, namely the top edge of the burning wick element 17 is projected or retracted in a required amount from between the inner cylinder 4 and the outer cylinder 6, with the suction wick element 19 in contact with the burning wick element 17, it will abut against the contact fabric 21 following the burning wick element 17 to thereby prevent upward movement of the contact fabric 21 when the burning wick element 17 is projected in an amount excess to the normally required amount, whereby the burning wick element 17 is separated from the contact fabric 21 against the force of the spring 22 or in other words the contact between the burning wick element 17 and the suction wick element 19 is interrupted.

As such, in a petroleum heater of the type illustrated in this example, burning and extinguishment are effected by moving the burning wick element vertically by the function of the rack-pinion which is operated by the operating shaft 12 and, when residua, such as tar, are piled up on the burning wick element 17 during a long period of service, such residua may be readily removed by causing the burning wick element to project above the level on which normal combustion takes place, to thereby disconnect it from the suction wick element 19. As a result, the fuel supply to the burning wick element is interrupted, bringing the burning wick element in the state of blank burning as described previously. In this example, not only is it possible to effect burning, extinguishment and adjustment of combustion state by the operation of the operating shaft but the removal of residua, attached to the burning wick element 17 can also be accomplished by the operation of the same operating shaft, thus renderin g the handling and construction of the heater extremely simple.

The burning wick element 17 has a reinforcement tape 47, such as of fabric or paper, attache-d to both the inner and outer peripheral surfaces, except the upper and lower edge portions. This not only enables the burning wick element 17 to be moved vertically smoothly being guided by the inner cylinder 4 but also keeps the burning wick element 17 in its shape and dimension against the abutting force of the suction wick element 19 at all times with no fiexion and therefore satisfactory fuel supply from the suction wick element 19 to the burning wick element 17 is ensured. Moreover, the upper and lower edge portions of the burning wick element 17 are exposed without being covered by the reinforcement tape 47, there is no fear at all that the tape 47 is burnt and the burnt tape is attached to the top edge of the burning wick element 17 during the vertical movement of the same, resulting in a red flame, such as of candle light, produced on top of the blue flame during fuel combustion, which will deteriorate the blue flame combustion extremely, and it is possible to obtain satisfactory combustion state constantly.

FIG. 6 shows another example in which a thicker wall portion 48 is provided at the lower edge portion of the burning wick element 17 in order to ensure positive and sufficient supply of fuel from the suction wick element 19 to the burning wick element 17. This thicker wall portion 48 may be formed integrally with the burning wick element 17 or alternatively it may be formed by attaching a separate wick element of greater wall thickness by means of adhesive or sewing. Disconnection between the burning wick element 17 and suction wick element 19 may be effected by a suitable means such as that in the foregoing example. By the provision of the thicker wall portion 48 at the bottom end portion of the burning wick element 17, the con-tact area with the contact fabric 21 is increased and thus fuel supply from the suction wick element to the burning wick element is improved greatly, which will in turn result in better combustion of fuel. In addition, the thicker wall portion 48 reduces the air space between the inner and outer cylinders in which the burning wick element 17 is held, with the consequence that fuel leakage through said air space is greatly reduced when the heater is inadvertently brought down. Therefore, danger of instantaneous fire can be eliminated and the safety of the heater can be enhanced.

Referring now to the wick elements separating means shown in FIG. 7, reference numeral 50 is an oil tank, 51 a burner element fitted in the center of the oil tank 50 and 52 is a cylindrical burning wick element made of such material as glass fibre, which is disposed exterior of an air cylinder 53 vertically mounted at the center of the oil tank 50 and is moved vertically by the operation of an operating shaft (not shown) while being guided by the air cylinder 53.

A suction wick element 54 of such material as cotton and of a cord-like shape is disposed exterior of the air cylinder 53 in the oil tank 50 and at its top end there is mounted a doughnut-shaped contact plate 55 through which the air cylinder 53 extends, through the intermediary of a fitting plate 56. The suction wick element 54 is in contact with the bottom end of the burning wick element 52 through said contact plate 55. A spring 57 is mounted exterior of the air cylinder 53 so as to urge the con-tact plate 55 to be in contact constantly with the lower end of the burning wick element 52. A sup ort rod 58 is extending downward from the inner upper surface of the oil tank 50 to rotatably support a lever 59 at a fulcrum 60 at the middle of said lever. One end of the lever 59 is provided with engaging elements 61 and 62 embracing the fitting plate 56 from both sides, while the other end engages the operating shaft 63 loosely. The operating shaft 63 is slidably extending through a guide 64 provided on top of the oil tank 50.

One end of the operating shaft 63, as has been described previously, is in loose engagement with the lever 59 by means of a stopper pin 65, while the other end thereof is mounted with an operating button 66, and further a reduced diameter portion 67 is formed in the midportion.

An elastic element 68 is disposed between the operating button 66 and the guide 64 to be in contact with the operating shaft 63 so as to clamp said operating shaft and its displacement is prevented by a cover 69.

In the heater described, normal combustion and extinguishment are effected by moving the burning wick element 52 vertically by the operation of the operating shaft now shown. When residua such as tar are produced on the burning wick element 52 during a lengthy period of use, they must be removed as they are detrimental to combustion.

In order to remove the residuum, the operating shaft 63 is pulled from the position shown by the solid line to the position shown by the dotted line, whereupon the lever 59 swings about the fulcrum 60 due to the engagement with the stopper pin 65, with one end moving upward and the other end downward and thus the contact plate 55 connected to the lever 59 is lowered against the force of the spring 57 causing the suction wick element 54 to separate from the burning wick element 52.

Consequently, fuel supply to the burning wick element 52 is interrupted, resulting in blank burning of said wick element and the residua are flown away upon decomposition in a short period of time.

In this case, the operating shaft 63 does not return to its original position even when the pressing force is removed from the button 66 due to the engagement of the elastic element 68 with the reduced diameter portion 67 formed in the operating shaft 63.

After the residua have been removed in the manner described, providing for satisfactory combustion, the operating shaft 63 is pushed against the detection force of the elastic element 68. Both wick elements are then brought to their original positions to be in contact with each other again due to the force of the spring 57 and the fuel begins to be supplied to the burning wick element 52 from the suction wick element 54 for combustion.

As such, the petroleum heater shown in FIG. 7, in which connection and disconnection of both wick elements can be attained by vertical movement of single operating shaft, is advantageous in that the blank burning operation is rendered extremely simple and the operation of the heater is easy.

Additionally, the blank burning of the wick can be carried out in a positive manner and accordingly the residuum can be removed positively due to the engagement of the elastic element with the groove formed in the operating shaft.

As has been described hereinbefore, the petroleum heater of the present invention in which a wick is composed of a cylindrical burning wick element of a heatresistant material such as glass fibre and a cord-like suction wick element such as of cotton having a good fuel sucking property, both wick elements being kept in contact with each other during normal combustion and being separated when carbonaceous residua, accumulated on the top edge of the burning wick element, are desired to be removed, is an excellent convection petroleum heater in which the merits of both the wick such as of cotton and the wick such as of glass fibre are embodied and which is capable of satisfactory fuel combustion and easy removal of residua, because blank burning of the burning wick element can be effected at any time as desired regardless of the presence or absence of fuel in the oil tank and therefore the residua can be removed with ease. There are further advantages that, since the suction wick element is guided by the inner cylinder for supplying the primary air to the combustion area therethrough, the vertical movement of said wick element is rendered smooth and good contact between both wick elements can be obtained, and that, since combustion, adjustment of combustion state and extenguishment can be effected by the operation of the operating shaft through the rack-pinion means, alike conventional heaters of this type, the heater is convenient in handling, and further that, when carbonaceous residua are accumulated on the burning wick element, the burning wick element can be blank burnt readily by disconnecting the burning wick element from the suction wick element by means provided separately from the operating shaft, which, together with the aforementioned merits of the claimed heater, will render the handling of the heater extremely convenient.

Further advantageous features of the claimed heater are that, since the suction wick element is in the shape of cord, the wick element can be connected to the mounting ring merely by passing it through a hole bored in said plate, whereby the workability of the heater is greatly improved, and that, since the connection and disconnection between the burning wick element and the suction wick element take place in the oil tank, handling and repair of the parts associating with said connection and disconnection can be done with case.

While the workability for the assembling operation can be improved greatly, as described above, by the formation of the suction wick element in a cord-like shape, it will be obvious that the suction wick element is not required to be formed in that shape in particular when the workability need not be considered.

Although the foregoing detailed description has been given on specific examples, it should be understood that the present invention is not in any way restricted thereto,

but many other modifications are possible.

What is claimed is:

1. A petroleum heater comprising a tank containing a fuel; an inner cylinder disposed vertically at the center of said oil tank; an outer cylinder extending coaxially over said inner cylinder in a spaced relationship thereto; a cylindrical burning wick member made of heat-resistant material, extending between said cylinders, and fixed to said outer cylinder; means to move said outer cylinder and said burning Wick member axially with respect to said inner cylinder; a mounting ring slidably mounted around said inner cylinder adjacent one end of said burning wick member; at least one cord-like suction wick member having a good fuel sucking property fixed to said mounting ring and having at least one end extending into the fuel in said tank; resilient means normally urging said mounting ring in a direction so that said suction wick member contacts said burning wick member, and means for overcoming the force of said resilient means to urge said mounting ring in an opposite direction for interrupting contact between said burning wick member and said suction wick member for the removal of residues accumulated on the top edge of the burning wick member.

2. The heater of claim 1 wherein said means for overcoming the force of said resilient means comprises an operating shaft to be moved vertically by exterior operation and having an annular groove formed in the outer periphery thereof, a lever for connecting said operating shaft with said suction wick member, and an elastic element adapted to engage said annular groove in said operating shaft so as to maintain said operating shaft in a predetermined position when the operating shaft .is pulled and the suction wick member is separated from the burning Wick member by the action of the lever.

3. The heater of claim 1 wherein said means for overcoming the force of said resilient means comprises a lever having formed therein slanting holes inclining toward the forward end thereof and being slidable in foreandaft direction, and vertically operative pressing rods 10 each having a projection adapted to engage said slanting hole in said lever and having the lower ends thereof arranged in opposed relation with said suction Wick element for abutment therewith.

4. The heater of claim 1 wherein said means for overcoming the force of said resilient means comprises a stopper provided at the upper portion of the oil tank so that when the burning wick member is projected above the level usually required for normal fuel combustion, said stopper abuts against the suction wick member to thereby prevent upward movement of said suction wick member.

5. The heater of claim 1 further comprising reinforcement tapes of a relatively thin material attached to the inner and outer peripheral surfaces of said burning wick member with both the top and bottom edges exposed.

6. The heater of claim 1 wherein said burning wick member has its thickness increased only at the lower portion thereof.

7. The heater of claim 1 wherein said burning wick member has its top edge portion only made of a heatresistant material.

8. The heater of claim 1 further comprising a contact fabric mounted on said mounting ring and being in intimate contact with a mid-portion of said suction wick member in the normal position of said mounting ring.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 372,869 11/1887 Seery 6770 2,011,982 8/1935 Richardson 12.696 2,493,961 1/1950 Goodloe 6769 3,279,524 10/1966 Nozaki et al. 126-96 X FREDERICK L. MATTE/SON, JR., Primary Examiner.

E. G. FAVORS, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,367,318 February 6, 1968 Yujiro Murakami et a1. It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

1 In the heading to the printed specification, after line 7, insert Claims priority, application Japan, July 5, 1965, 40,714

Signed and sealed this 6th day of May 1969.

(SEAL) Edward M. Fletcher, Jr. Attesting Officer lssioner of Patents 

